


Vows For Thee Broke

by AccioInvisibilityCloak



Category: Lovely Little Losers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward situations, F/M, M/M, Multi, Peter thinks Ben's getting with Rosa, Rule Breaking, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-14
Updated: 2016-05-14
Packaged: 2018-06-08 08:28:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6847165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AccioInvisibilityCloak/pseuds/AccioInvisibilityCloak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'm telling you, the way he argues with Rosa, that *means* something. AND they had lunch together the other day at Boyet's. I saw them. They had a corner booth, Freddie, that's a date table. Benedick is hooking up with Rosa Jones, and you and I are going to catch him."</p><p>Peter wants to fix the mess that is the flat, and punish Ben after the latest video he's posted. Freddie wants to be with Kitso, but not if it means sacrificing control over her flatmates and her life. Bursting into Benedick's room, brandishing a video camera, trying to catch him in the act of breaking rules? Might not have been the most effective way to solve their problems.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Vows For Thee Broke

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from the Love's Labour's Lost quote, "Vows for thee broke deserve not punishment." Parts of Freddie and Kit's conversation at the end are dialogue borrowed directly from the episode "Confrontation", so thanks to cacophonyofabsurdities for her transcript of the episode (which I still refuse to watch). Also thanks to beatriceeagle and marydebenham on tumblr for their excellent LLL meta pieces which have greatly influenced my view of these characters. 
> 
> Enjoy! 
> 
> By the way, new chapters of The World is Too Quiet Without You Nearby are coming soon! Thanks for reading!

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

       “You see?! I _told_ you,” Peter hisses, nudging Freddie with his elbow. “I _told_ you Ben was sneaking around!”

The two of them are hiding in the kitchen, having returned to the flat early this afternoon to quite the surprise- Ben is also home early, and he’s not alone. At first, they could hear the sounds of a strange someone’s laughter alongside Ben’s familiar almost birdlike squawks of mirth. Now, though, their erstwhile flatmate and his companion have gone mysteriously quiet.

She’s a _girl_ companion, thinks Freddie with a mix of indignation and satisfaction. An against-the-rules girl companion. Definitely a punishable offense- at least, if they can catch Ben doing anything romantic with her.

       Ever since Ben had the audacity to put up that awful video of Peter and Balthazar breaking the kissing rule, Peter has been spying on him, watching, biding his time until he can get enough proof that Freddie might believe him and punish Ben. Sure, Ben had almost immediately blacklisted the video from YouTube so no one else could see it, and apologized profusely, but Freddie can't blame Peter for wanting revenge.

She probably should have spoken up, told Ben not to post the video- but thankfully, Peter hasn’t seemed to have thought of the idea of following Freddie herself around to check for rule-breaking. Freddie’s still sweating from the fear that it could have been her and Kit that Ben was busting the day he’d punished Stan and Peter, and she isn’t sure she could have handled another punishment.

It isn’t like she’s even been doing anything all that serious with Kit anyway- she’s only kissed him once, and that was just on the cheek! Perfectly innocent, barely even romantic at all, as far as Freddie’s concerned. She’ll just ignore the way her heart flutters and her lips tingle every time she thinks about it.

She still refuses to let anyone _else’s_ potential rule breaking slide, though. Which, she supposes, is how she ended up here, following along with Peter’s scheme to catch Ben in the act- before any of the boys thinks to look at her instead. Even if she does find it hard to believe Peter’s theory about Ben.

                                                                                                                  ------------

          "I mean, think about it," Peter said the other day, when he'd knocked on Freddie's door and interrupted her carefully allotted homework time.

"It's pretty much Ben's M.O. He falls for girls he hates, who hate him back- I think he just thinks that's hot. I'm telling you, the way he argues with Rosa, that _means_ something. AND they had lunch together the other day at Boyet's. I saw them. They had a corner booth, Freddie, that's a date table." Peter had smacked his fist against his open palm like a judge banging a gavel. Case closed. "Benedick is hooking up with Rosa Jones, and you and I are going to catch him."

He'd slapped a receipt down onto Freddie's desk as proof. Two coffees from Boyet's- with cream. On Vegan Friday. 

"Punish him," Peter had demanded.

          "Peter," Freddie had said calmly. "Boyet's is a _vegan_ empire. Their coffee creamer is vegan, that’s not against the rules. And there's no way that's Ben's receipt, he doesn't even drink coffee. He's way too obsessed with tea. This is probably Stanley's or something. I trust you, but you need proof of rule-breaking too. That’s a part of the punishment rule, you know."

She couldn’t help but notice that Peter had flinched when she mentioned Stanley. Interesting. _Very_ interesting.

“But they were still on a date-” he had started, unrelenting.

“Did you actually _see_ any romance happening?” Freddie questioned, steepling her fingers. “Any kisses, long hugs, hand-holding?”

“Well, no, but-”

“Then I can’t punish him yet. We need more evidence,” Freddie had looked up at him from her desk chair, raising one skeptical eyebrow as she waited for a better argument. “Well?”

“Okay, look,” said Peter. “This flat’s supposed to be a team, right? But we’re not even close to acting like one. I still haven’t forgiven either of you for posting that video, but the fact that you even did it at all- something’s wrong there, and maybe I should just write the lot of you off once and for all, but I’d like to at least try to fix things first, if we can. I figure, if Ben breaks a rule, then we’ll all have done it at least once. We punish him like he fucking deserves, and then we’re on equal footing. We’re a team again. We start over. Come on, Freddie. Help me fix this? You do owe me big, you know.”

Freddie had offered a put-upon sigh before relenting. “Fine. You’re right. And if there’s any rule-breaking going on here, I need to know about it. I’m in. What’s the plan?”

Peter hadn’t been able to suppress a little fist-pump and a victorious smirk. "Yes! Thank you! Okay, well our best bet is constant vigilance…”

                                                                                                                          ------------

          So here Freddie is, spying on her best friend's possible illicit romantic exploits, stealing the camera Ben had hidden in the fruit bowl again so that she can catch him on film if needed.

Freddie kind of can't believe Peter was right. It’s not that she doesn’t trust Peter’s word, really. It’s just that she’s so surprised that Ben is actually with a girl and happy about it, after the whole Beatrice thing.

It was a nasty breakup, she knows that much, and Ben's been in a really bad way ever since. She thinks it's why he keeps going overboard with the punishments, why he agreed to the rules in the first place- he's trying to punish himself, because he pushed Beatrice away.

If Ben really is in love with Rosa now, Freddie supposes she's glad for him. Ben can be annoying sometimes, but he’s her friend, and she wants him to be happy. It's been hard for him knowing Beatrice and her friend Meg are staying in town these days. It's about time he moved on from his ex.

Freddie's still going to see him punished for cheating on the rules, though. Getting over Beatrice is one thing, but Benedick doesn't get a new romance if Freddie doesn't, and that rule's in place for a reason. Though she isn't sure what that reason even was anymore, as instead her mind wanders back to Kitso, wondering what he's doing right now, what he’s thinking about, what kinds of heavenly coffee orders his beautiful dark hands are whipping up as he regards even the rudest customers with that dazzling smile, those deep brown eyes...

"Freddie!" Peter hisses. "Ambush time?”

"Oh!" Freddie blushes bright red and whips around, almost hitting Peter in the face with the camera lens. "Sorry, sorry, I’m on it!"

 

         Peter scowls from the ground, having fallen while dodging the camera, then picks himself up and follows Freddie down the hall, relishing the poetic justice of Ben's camera being turned against him. Peter reminds himself to be careful not to stoop to the level of petty revenge again- but he figures, as long as he doesn’t post the footage, he’s allowed to stand up for himself. Seeing Ben squirm is nothing to being with Balthazar, but seeing as he's fucked that one up...

He shakes his head, ridding himself of the bad thoughts as he takes the camera from Freddie. They creep down the hall like secret agents on a mission. Calm. Silent. Determined.

Peter focuses the camera on Ben’s door as Freddie reaches for the doorknob- but in her eagerness, she doesn't see Ben's Chucks haphazardly discarded in the hallway, and she trips over one and falls against the door with a massive THUD. 

"...Ow," Freddie comments, peeling herself off of the door. She can hear shuffling around inside the room, and a whisper that sounds an awful lot like "Shit!" 

And then all's silent once more, and Freddie turns to Peter, grinning mischievously into the viewfinder, forgetting she's on camera for once. She mimes opening the door and shoots Peter a thumbs up and a quizzical expression. Peter snorts softly and gives a thumbs up in return, the gesture communicating silently, 'I have the shot. Open it!'

Freddie slams open the door, crying triumphantly, "Ah-HA! Caught in the act! ...Wait, what the...?" 

She wrinkles her nose at the sight in front of her, which comprises her flatmate and best friend, sitting on his ridiculously unmade bed, alone. Ben's face is flushed and his hair is tousled, sticking up and out in all directions. He's breathing heavily, grinning like a loon- and he also happens to be extraordinarily shirtless. Honestly, Freddie doesn't know who Ben thinks he's fooling. She’s pretty sure she can even see a suspicious bruise darkening on his neck.

"Oh, uh, hey, guys," Ben stammers, crossing his arms over his bare chest and trying to look nonchalant. "I was just... waking up from a nap? You know, I usually just sleep naked, you got lucky this time."

           Suddenly Freddie hears a muffled snort at the lewd comment. She looks around at Peter, but he looks just as confused as she feels. It wasn't him. Fred narrows her eyes. 

"Benedick, you know I love you," Freddie says slowly. "But I'm not that stupid. Where is she?"

Ben feigns ignorance with a scandalized expression, splaying one hand across his chest like an offended aristocrat. "I don't know what you're talking about! I'm all alone in here, just my pathetic rule following perpetually single self."

"Like hell," says Peter vindictively. "Rosa, I know you're in here! Come on out! No point hiding now." 

Ben, for once, is momentarily stunned into silence. Someone makes a muffled noise of shocked laughter that doesn't seem to come from anywhere at all, though Freddie suddenly notices that the bed is pushed about a foot further away from the wall than usual. Hmm…

"Wait, wait," Ben says incredulously. “You're honestly telling me you just burst in here, with the _camera_ no less, because you thought you were going to catch me with _Rosa Jones_?”

“Yeah, actually, I did. Unless you’ve been meeting anyone else for secret lunches we should know about?” Peter demands.

 

         Ben’s laughing now, absolutely unabashed. Freddie fixes him with a glare. How dare he be so cavalier about this betrayal of her trust?

“Okay, but Balthazar's sister Rosa Jones?” Ben asks. “Obnoxious, holier than thou, never shuts up talking about herself, _that_ Rosa Jones? That's who you think I'm sneaking around with?"

"Never shuts up, wow, I wonder who else that sounds like," Peter says under his breath, and then, "Of course, that Rosa Jones. You're hooking up with her, against the rules! I saw you on a date at Boyet's, and you've been spending a lot of time together lately, even though you claim to hate her. You must be breaking the rules; I know you are!"

Ben grins. “I am never going to let Rosa hear the end of this, she’ll hate it! Oh, man- wait, does Balthazar know about my apparent fling with his big sister?”

"Uh, yeah, he didn't believe me. Said Rosa would never do that, but I just figured, you don't exactly want to share your entire sexual history with your little brother, especially not if you're sleeping with his loser flatmate. Face it, we caught you red handed and you're punished as hell!"

"Hey, now-" Ben starts, but Freddie holds up a hand. Peter pans the camera over to her. 

"What did you mean, 'that's who you _think_ I'm sneaking around with', Ben?" She asks slowly, triumphant. "Because it almost sounds to me like you _are_ getting into shenanigans with someone, after all. And we did catch you red handed, fair and square."

"You did not!" says Ben indignantly. "All you have is circumstantial evidence and-"

         "Oh, will you just tell them the truth already," says an amused voice from somewhere nearby, causing everyone to look around. “I can't breathe under here!" 

Freddie jumps as a hand emerges from the gap between bed and wall, and a girl pulls herself up from her hiding place and crawls across the bed to sit next to Ben.

She seems to be wearing one of Ben’s button-down shirts, mostly unbuttoned in her haste to cover up when the ambush started. The light green shirt clashes with a now-wrinkled dark blue skirt. Freddie’s glad this encounter is much less embarrassing for the other girl than it could have been, and has the good graces to look ashamed.

The girl pushes her loose, long blonde hair away from her face, then looks up at Peter and Freddie, completely at ease. "Hey, guys."

" _Beatrice_? What are you- How- Why-" Peter asks, incredulous.

Freddie just stares. Beatrice? The ex? 

"Peter! Tell me," Beatrice says with a smirk. "What's this about Ben and Rosa?"

"He's breaking the rules!" Freddie cuts in suddenly as the reality hits her. "He's committing Shenanigans, right here in the flat!"

"Yeah, okay, guilty," says Ben, holding up a hand, not looking as though he feels particularly bad about any of it. “You caught us.”

"You... You're supposed to be broken up," Peter says, surprised. 

"No, we're not," says Bea. "We got back together."

"We never should have broken up in the first place," Ben adds. "But long distance was really hard, and I guess we were both just scared of getting hurt again- hey, are you okay, love?"

         Beatrice is rolling her shoulder gingerly, rubbing it where it must be sore from falling behind the bed to hide. Ben reaches out to touch her shoulder, concerned, but she catches his hand. "Fine. Well, a little pissed at you for making me literally hide under your bed. This is getting ridiculous."

“I know,” Ben sighs. “I’m really sorry about all this, Bea. You deserve better.”

“Yeah, she does!” Peter interjects. “I can’t believe you. I saw you on a date with Rosa three days ago, and now you’re messing Beatrice around again? That’s messed up.”

“How dare you-” Beatrice exclaims, so furious at Peter that she can't finish the sentence.

Ben’s face changes completely, all mirth vanishing, and he glares up at Peter. “Fuck you. I would _never_ cheat on Beatrice, I love her! You should know me better than that, man.”

“But I feel like I don’t, anymore, bro. Look, I’m sorry if I jumped to conclusions. Just… why were you with Rosa, then?” Peter says.

“I’m allowed to have friends, Pete. I know I’ve been an ass lately, okay, and I’ve said I’m sorry. University… it’s not been easy for me, and that’s no excuse for what I’ve done to you. But I’m not a cheater.”

“Seriously, Peter, you really think I would put up with that? Do you honestly think we would have gotten back together if we weren’t sure we're committed to each other?” Beatrice pipes up, scooting slightly closer to her boyfriend, allowing him to put an arm around her. “We’re both friends with Rosa now, okay? And she’s worried about you and Balthazar.”

“We were just trying to help,” Ben admits. “We were going to talk to you both, make sure you were okay, see if we could help repair the damage I did with that video. It was a stupid mistake, and I get it if you can’t forgive me, all right? But that’s no reason you can’t be happy.”

“Thanks, guys.” Peter exhales, processing. “This year has been such a mess.”

“And it’s not even half over yet,” Freddie points out. “We have so much flat budgeting to do.”

“Flat meeting when Balthazar gets home?” Ben proposes. “I think we have some things to discuss.”

“Like your punishment!” Peter perks up. “Oh, man, I am so excited for this one. I have big plans.”

“I’m terrified,” says Ben sarcastically. “Hey, so how are you and Balthazar, anyway? Have you talked, lately?”

“He’s been distant,” Peter admits, sitting down on the bed next to Beatrice. “I really want to fix things, but I don’t think he trusts me not to break his heart.”

“You won’t,” says Beatrice, resting a comforting hand on Peter’s arm. “I know you won’t.”

“Hey, by the way, congratulations, guys. I’m glad you worked things out,” Peter nods to Ben and Bea, who are, of course, still cuddling, and only partially clothed. They both blush and look away.

They don't stop cuddling, though.

 

                                                                                                                      -----------

 

          “And then we basically sat around and gave each other relationship advice until Balthazar got home so we could have the flat meeting,” Freddie laughs, sipping her coffee.

She’s sitting with Kit Harper in the corner booth at Boyet’s Vegan Coffee- the dating booth.

“Oh, really?” Kit says with that easy grin of his. “And what advice did you give?”

“Well, I mean, I’m pretty useless at relationships. Not a lot of experience,” Freddie admits, blushing. “But I suppose… you can’t really plan these things. There’s no rulebook. That’s… hard, for me.”

“I think you make your own rules,” Kit says thoughtfully. “You, and the person you’re with. You decide you want to be together, you decide if you want to be exclusive, and then you work out what you both need to be happy. Maybe you don’t need a whole ironclad rulebook, because you make it up as you go along.”

“Speaking of rules,” Freddie says, and it comes out a nervous little squeak, and she can feel herself blushing. “We may have revised our flat rules just a little bit.”

“Oh, really?” Kit takes a swig of iced tea. He’s beaming, like he can guess where this is going. Freddie feels her heart skip at the way his warm eyes shine behind his glasses. “How’s that?”

“No overnight guests, no serious PDA in communal living spaces… but romantic relationships are now allowed. It just makes the most sense, what with Peter and Stanley, and Ben and Bea, and…” Freddie trails off, because Kit has just covered her hand with his own, leaning in.

“D’you think you might be interested in taking advantage of that rule, yourself, Red?”

“Well, uh, actually, I was- you don’t have to say yes, but I- Kitso, I think I’d like to date you.” She says it all so fast, it’s a miracle he understands her- but she knows that he does, because he squeezes her hand, intertwining their fingers.

“Freddie Kingston, I thought you’d never ask.”

“I know I hurt you, with the rules,” she gasps. “But I was never ashamed of you, I didn’t mean to push you away, I was just so scared, I-”

“I’d really like to kiss you now,” Kitso says. “And I don’t see much sense in trying to hide that. Seeing as how I’m falling in love with you.”

“With me?” Freddie squeaks.

“Yeah, you over there, with the red hair,” he laughs, and the next moment, Freddie’s lurching up out of her seat and easing onto Kitso’s lap.

First, she sends out a silent prayer of thanks to her friends for being so utterly hopeless at sneaking around.

But after that, there are no rules stopping his arms from slipping around her slight frame. There’s nothing stopping her from whispering, “I love you too”, their foreheads pressed together, slightly sweaty skin on skin. There is absolutely no reason not to lean in close and press her lips to Kitso Harper’s, in the deepest, sweetest kiss she’s ever had.

At long last, Freddie Kingston throws caution to the winds.

 

                                                                                                                        ---------

 


End file.
